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The Cincinnati Bengals agreed to a three-year deal with former Florida State University Seminoles running back Jacques Patrick, the team announced Friday. Patrick last played for the XFL's Tampa Bay Vipers.

NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reported via Twitter that Patrick had interest from several NFL teams. A release from Cincinnati Bengals Communications said Patrick will be classified as a rookie in 2020, as he was draft-eligible in 2019 but has not previously signed an NFL contract.

Patrick, 23, ranked third in the XFL with 254 rushing yards on 60 carries with two touchdowns in five games, adding 49 receiving yards on five catches. He had a season-best 108 rushing yards on 21 carries with a score in Tampa Bay's 25-0 win on March 1.

“I get my opportunity and I’m ready to take advantage of it,” Patrick told the Orlando Sentinel.

“Being able to go against pro competition, no matter how people view it, it’s still pro competition. A lot of the guys have played in the NFL,” said Patrick, 23. “I knew it was an opportunity for me to be seen by the NFL and I knew the XFL was a league of opportunities and I’m very thankful. It was a wonderful, first-class experience.”

In Cincinnati, he will join his best friend Auden Tate, a wide receiver who was his roommate at FSU. Tate was a rookie for the Bengals last year.

“That’s where God took us [to Cincinnati],” Patrick said. ‘It still really hasn’t hit me yet. When I woke up this morning, all I wanted to do was work hard.

“It’s just another motivating factor and such a surreal moment. Not everybody gets this opportunity and I’m so thankful and I’ll do my best to take full advantage of it. Opportunity meets preparation and you get moments like these.”